Still visible and tangible in the streets and environs of Kingston is the evidence of its place in the architecture and history of Canada. It is remarkably fortunate in having more old stone buildings than any other city of its size in Ontario. Many of these are homes, large or small; some are commercial buildings; still others are public buildings with a variety of uses.

Many of Kingston’s older streets are lined with houses built of stone, and even in the new subdivisions there are old limestone farm houses, now surrounded by modern split-level dwellings. The highways leading into the...

Settlement in Kingston was not haphazard even at the beginning, because surveyor John Collins and his crew had laid out a townsite before the first settlers arrived. The street pattern was adapted to the shape of the waterfront by fitting a wedge between two grid plots. The wedge-shaped section (Brock to Clarence streets) was designated for a market and a church and soon became the centre or core around which the area now called the Old City developed. The lots reserved for a marketplace on the original plan are now the site of Kingston’s City Hall—a magnificent site overlooking...

The present Sydenham Ward is bounded by Johnson and Centre streets and the waterfront. The old section of the ward lies between Bagot Street, once called Rear Street, and the waterfront. Wharves and shipyards were established along this section of the shore as the town expanded, and soon commercial houses extended along much of Ontario Street.

King Street, however, only one block inland, was primarily residential. There were two bank buildings at the east corners of William and King—the present Empire Life office, built in 1853 for the Commercial Bank, and the Frontenac Club Apartments, built in 1845 for...

Most of this area was outside the original townsite. Park Lot 1 included both sides of Brock Street and the north side of Johnson Street from Bagot to Barrie. The Crown grant to Sir John Johnson was sold to the Reverend Father Alexander Macdonell, who named it Selma Park and subdivided it. Park Lot 2, granted to Anne Earl, included the area from Johnson Street to West Street between Bagot and Clergy. It was subdivided and sold in the 1840s. A triangular section in the Barrie, Clergy, William streets area was part of Farm Lot 25, a Crown grant to...

Farm lot 24 included the land from Barrie Street to University Avenue and from the waterfront north to Concession Street. The Reverend Dr. John Stuart, who had received the Crown grant of the lot as a Loyalist and as the former Chaplain of Sir John Johnson’s Regiment, farmed the land to support his family. His son and heir, Archdeacon G. O. Stuart, taking advantage of a rising real estate market in 1838, subdivided part of the lot and sold building sites. The most desirable of these were on the lakeshore and on Barrie Street, but clusters of small cottages were...

A few modest farm houses were the first buildings in this area and at least one log cottage, neatly stuccoed, still stands. Then breweries and distilleries were built on the waterfront. In 1831 Thomas Dalton sold his brewery to Thomas Molson, who later sold to James Morton. Morton also took over the operation of Robert Drummond’s brewery and distillery (in 1834) and expanded it. Some of Morton’s buildings are now used as the Regional Headquarters of the Correctional Service of Canada.

The area is most notable for the country estates built between 1834 and 1854. Some bankers, lawyers and merchants...

Many of kingston’s earliest homes were in the area along the Cataraqui River, north of Fort Frontenac, where the first settlers chose to build. Rideau Street was at one time the “best” street until Queen Street took precedence. The Commandant’s quarters and the Town Major’s house were in this section: first on Rideau Street, then on Sydenham on the hill behind the Artillery parade ground.

There were inns and taverns, near the barracks especially. Samuel McGowan kept the Sign of the Royal Oak on Place d’Armes. The Racquet Court Inn on Barrack Street catered to officers, and J. Cochrane had...

The area to the east of the LaSalle Causeway is not legally in the city of Kingston but in terms of history and architecture it is an integral part. Point Frederick was, in fact, at first recommended as the best site for the proposed settlement. On a second look—to consider terrain, exposure of the bay to west winds, and adequate defences—the recommendation was rejected.

From the beginning of British settlement the east side of the Cataraqui River has been associated with defence. A dockyard was established there by the summer of 1789 and a naval base by 1794....